Attorney General
In most
common law jurisdictions, the
Attorney General or
Attorney-General is the main legal adviser to the government, and in some jurisdictions may in addition have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.
The term has traditionally been used to refer to any person who holds a general power of attorney to represent a principal in all matters. In the common law tradition, anyone who represents the state, especially in criminal prosecutions, is such an attorney. Although a government may designate some official as the permanent attorney general, anyone who comes to represent the state in the same way, even if only for a particular case, is an attorney general, and when that is a private individual, he may be distinguished from the permanent official as being a private or
pro tempore attorney general. Although most nations now mainly use full-time professional prosecutors in criminal cases, this is a fairly recent development, emerging in the latter half of the 19th century. Until the advent of public prosecutors, commonly called district attorneys at the county or district level, criminal prosecutions were conducted by private persons, usually lawyers, who would be appointed attorney general by receiving a bill of indictment from a
grand jury. Today private criminal prosecutions are discouraged by judges, but the practice survives in the use of "special prosecutors" or "independent counsels" created by special legislation.
This usage can also be seen in the title "secretary general", for a secretary, or executive official, with general authority, normally the chief executive of a hierarchy of executive officials, or "surgeon general", for the chief surgeon of a team of surgeons, such as the Public Health Service originally was.
Some people mistakenly think the word "general" used in that way entitles the official to the honorific "general", but this is only appropriate for military generals.
In
Australia the
Attorney-General is the chief law officer of the
Crown and a member of the
Cabinet. The Attorney-General is the minister responsible for legal affairs, national and public security and the
Australian Security Intelligence Organisation. The current Attorney-General, as of 2006, is
Phillip Ruddock.
The Justice and Customs Minister is the minister assisting the Attorney-General. The current Minister is Senator
Chris Ellison. The Justice and Customs Minister is responsible for the
Australian Federal Police and the
Australian Customs Service.
The Australian states each have an Attorney-General, who is a state minister with similar responsibilities to the federal minister with respect to state law.
Functions of the state and federal Attorneys-General include the administration of the selection of persons for nomination to judicial posts, and authorising prosecutions. In normal circumstances the prosecutorial powers of the Attorney-General are exercised by the
Director of Public Prosecutions and staff, however the Attorney-General maintains formal control, including the power to initiate and terminate public prosecutions and take over private prosecutions. Statutory criminal law provides that prosecutions for certain offences require the individual consent of the Attorney-General. This is generally for offences whose illegality is of a somewhat controversial nature, or where there is perceived to be a significant risk that prosecutions of a political nature may be embarked upon. The Attorney-General also generally has the power to issue certificates legally conclusive of certain facts (e.g. that the revelation of certain matters in court proceedings might constitute a risk to national security); the facts stated in such certificates must be accepted by the courts and cannot legally be disputed by any parties. The Attorney-General also has the power to issue directions of
nolle prosequi with respect to an offence, which legally prohibit any person from prosecuting it.
In Brazil the Attorney General, known as the Procurador Geral da República, is the head of the federal prosecution service, Ministério Público Federal, organ also known as the Procuradoria Geral da República, an autonomous organ in charge of criminal prosecution, the defence of minorities' interests, the environment, and the protection of constitutional values. The Attorney General heads a group of independent magistrates who work to investigate and prosecute criminal and civil offenses committed against society and, specially, against racial, sexual, religious and political minorities or the environment. The task of advising the President, head of the Executive Branch, is left to the Advocate General, office in charge of defending the federal government, and the Minister of Justice, a cabinet member who is in charge of the federal police, amongst other duties, organ which investigating activities are overseen by federal prosecutors (Procuradores da República) in the Attorney General's office.Since Brazil is a Federation, in every state there is a local prosecution organ, the Procuradoria Geral de Justiça do Estado (State Attorney General), with the same attributions, at a local level, of the federal organ. A State prosecutor is called Promotor de Justiça.Both federal and state prosecutors are public servants who start working after approval in public exams.
The
Minister of Justice and Attorney General are combined into one cabinet position in
Canada. The Attorney General is the chief law officer of
The Crown. The Minister of Justice is concerned with questions of policy and their relationship to the justice system.
The
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness (previously titled Solicitor General) is a separate cabinet position and administers the police, prisons, and security agencies of the federal government.
See also
Attorney General of Ontario.
The Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority is an Egyptian judicial institution that resembles, in respect of competencies, the
United States Solicitor General.
The Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority had been established in 1874 prior to the establishment of the Egyptian national courts in 1883. The Authority represents the interests of the state in a variety of areas before national and international courts and arbitral tribunals. Under the applicable law, the Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority is granted the power to proceed to plead on behalf of the state even if the state itself does not like to do so and vice versa.
Organizationally, the Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority is divided into several departments, each of which is competent to represent the state before a specified kind of courts with respect to jurisdiction. All the departments are headed by their respective vice presidents, however, the president of the Authority shall preside the Department of Foreign Disputes.
The members of the Department of Foreign Disputes are in charge of representing the Arab Republic of Egypt before the
International Court of Justice (ICJ),
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), Cairo Regional Centre for International Commercial Arbitration (CRCICA), International Chamber of Commerce in Paris (ICC) and any other international arbitral or judicial panel for the settlement of International Disputes where Egypt is a party thereto. The current State Solicitor
Asser Harb is primarily known for his eminent international legal practice within the Department of Foreign Disputes.
In General, the main mission of the Egyptian State Lawsuits Authority is to defend the public funds and interests of the Egyptian people.
:
The United Kingdom has several law officers, for Scotland, see Lord Advocate, and see also Law Officers of the CrownThe
Attorney General for England and Wales is similarly the chief law officer of the Crown in England and Wales, and advises and represents the Crown and government departments in court. In practice, the
Treasury Solicitor normally provides the lawyers to do the actual appearance in court, although the Attorney General may appear in person if he wishes. He provides legal advice to the Government; for example, on the legality of the second
Gulf War. He also acts as the representative of the public interest; for example, in relation to charities.
The Attorney General has supervisory powers over the prosecution of criminal offences, but is not personally involved with prosecutions; however, some prosecutions (e.g.
Riot) cannot be commenced without his consent, and he has the power to halt prosecutions generally. Criminal prosecutions are the responsibility of the
Crown Prosecution Service, headed by the
Director of Public Prosecutions. The Attorney General may appeal cases to the higher courts where, although the particular case is settled, there may be a point of law of public importance at issue.
The Attorney General of the
Duchy of Cornwall is the chief legal adviser to the
Prince of Wales, and there is a separate Attorney General for the
Duchy of Lancaster, an appointment that is held by the Crown.
The Attorney General's deputy is the
Solicitor General for England and Wales.
The
Attorney General of Hong Kong, renamed Secretary for Justice after
transfer of sovereignty in
1997, is the legal adviser of the
Hong Kong Government and heads the
Department of Justice, assisted by the
Solicitor General. Crimes and offences are prosecuted at the suit of the Secretary of Justice.
The Secretary of Justice, appointed (ceremonial) by the
Central People's Government in
Beijing on the advice of the
Chief Executive, is an ex-officio member of the
Executive Council. The position is normally held by a
legal professional, and, before July
2002, a civil service position.
In the
Republic of Ireland the
Attorney-General is the principal law officer of the state and legal adviser to the
Government of Ireland. He is not a member of the Government though he attends cabinet meetings. He is appointed by the
President of Ireland upon the nomination of the
Taoiseach. Before 1974 all crimes and offences were prosecuted at the suit of the Attorney General. Since then indictable criminal offences have been prosecuted by the
Director of Public Prosecutions. The
Office of the Parliamentary Counsel to Government is a constituent department of the Office of the Attorney General. Prior to 1922, a similar role was performed by a UK Government Minister, the
Attorney-General for Ireland.
See also: Chief State Solicitor (Republic of Ireland):
See also: Solicitor-General for IrelandIn the
Isle of Man,
Her Majesty's Attorney General is a Crown appointment and Mr Attorney sits in the
Legislative Council (Isle of Man), 'ex officio'.
In
Malaysia the
Attorney General or
Peguam Negara (as he is referred to in
Bahasa Malaysia) is the principal legal adviser to the Government. He has the power, exercisable at his discretion, to institute, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence, other than proceedings before a Syariah court, a native court or a court-martial.
In Mexico the
Procuraduría General de la República is an institution belonging to the Federal executive branch that is responsible of the investigation and prosecution of federal crimes.
In
New Zealand, the
Attorney-General is the chief law officer and primary legal advisor of the New Zealand government. Historically, the post could be held either by a politician or by a senior jurist, but today, it is invariably held by a member of
Parliament. The Attorney-General attends
Cabinet, but the post is not the same as the
Minister of Justice. The Attorney-General has departmental responsibility for the Crown Law Office, the Parliamentary Counsel Office, and the Serious Fraud Office. By tradition, persons appointed to the position of Attorney-General have almost invariably been lawyers. Only two former Attorneys-General have not been lawyers, most recently Dr
Michael Cullen who held the post in 2005, and again from 2006. Cullen's appointment was controversial at the time because of his non-legal background.
During the period of
direct rule in
Northern Ireland from
1973 to
1998, the
Attorney General for England and Wales was also Attorney General for Northern Ireland. Under the
Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland executive is now advised by an Advocate General for Northern Ireland.
In the
Federal Government of the United States, the
Attorney General is a member of the
Cabinet and as head of the
Department of Justice is the top law enforcement officer and lawyer for the government. The attorney general may need to be distinguished from the
Solicitor General, a high Justice Department official with the responsibility of representing the government in the
Supreme Court. In cases of exceptional importance, however, the Attorney General may choose to represent the government himself in the Supreme Court.
The individual
U.S. states also have
State Attorneys General with similar responsibilities. The majority of state Attorneys General are chosen by popular election, as opposed to the U.S. Attorney General who is a Presidential appointee.
See also: District Attorney*
Home page of the Brazilian Attorney General*
Home page of the Irish Attorney General*
Home page of the Canadian Department of Justice*
Home page of the Attorney General of the United States*
Home page of the Australian Attorney-General's Department*
List of Solicitors General of India
